The British Columbia Real Estate Association says there are positive signs in the market and believes the impact of the mortgage stress tests may be easing.
The association has reported sales data for August which shows 6,743 residential sales, down 26.4% year-over-year. Year-to-date sales are down 21.3% from the same period of 2017 to 57,674.
Prices averaged $669,776, 1.2% lower than August 2017, reversing the downward trend of recent months. Year-to-date, the average MLS price is up 1.7% to $719,064.
“The downturn in housing demand induced by the mortgage stress-test is now largely behind us,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “The BC housing market is evolving along the same path blazed by Ontario and Alberta, where the initial shock of the mortgage stress-test is already dissipating, leading to increasing home sales.”
Total dollar volume of August sales in BC was $4.5 billion, down 27.3% year-over-year. Year-to-date total dollar volume was down 19.9% to $41 billion.
